


The Ones We Leave Behind

by Urbenmyth



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Angst fic, Domain Fic - Freeform, Spoilers for The Magnus Archives Season 5, Statement Fic (The Magnus Archives)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:21:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27131068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Urbenmyth/pseuds/Urbenmyth
Summary: After the Ritual, even the boundaries between life and death are not fully fixed in place.The Archivist has left many ghosts behind him. And as we finally approach the end, it is time to face them.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 24





	The Ones We Leave Behind

[EXT- A DOMAIN. WIND HOWLS. SOMETIMES, IT SOUNDS LIKE WHISPERS]

MARTIN

So, what’s this place? Creepy misty expanse, I’m guessing the Lonely?

JON

No, no. The trappings represent...death, bleakness, the underworld. It’s the Eye as judgement. And the End as judgement. The fear of supernatural punishment. Of the judgement of the dead.

MARTIN

“The judgement of the dead.” Sounds lovely.

JON

It’s a common mythological trope. That ghosts will rise to avenge their deaths, that in hell we face those hurt in life, revenants and…

MARTIN

Yes, yes, all very academic. So, I guess you’re going to give a statement about some poor sod having to face his dead wife or something?

JON

...No. No, I don’t think I am. I don’t...need to?

MARTIN

Hmm. That might be a good thing.

JON

Yes. Maybe.

MARTIN

It probably isn’t.

JON

Probably not.

MARTIN

We could ask. There’s someone there.

JON

I told you, they can’t hear you…

???

Yes I can.

MARTIN

See? It pays to be polite. Hi. Can...

???

Hello Martin. Jon.

Jon

I’m sorry. Do we know you?

[A BITTER, MIRTHLESS LAUGH]

???

No. You don’t. And whose fault is that?

JON

Wait… oh god. Sasha?

‘SASHA’

Hello again Jon.

MARTIN

Look, it’s not her. It’s some…nightmare pretending to be her

‘SASHA’

Oh, and you’d know all about that, wouldn’t you? You don’t even know if this was what I really looked like. How long was that creature pretending to be me before any of you noticed?

MARTIN

That’s not…

‘SASHA’

What? Not fair? That the All-Seeing Archivist with a dozen statements about Not!Them couldn’t put the pieces together? Melanie saw it. _Melanie_. But not you.

JON

It..it always chose someone to…

‘SASHA’

The Distortion told you, and you ignored it. Melanie told you, and you ignored her. _It_ told you, and you ignored it. And how did you avenge me, when you finally got it? You. Let. It. Loose.

JON

I..I didn’t know! I thought…

‘SASHA’

A statement about someone binding it to a table, and you think to _shatter the table._

JON

It...It tricked…

‘HELEN’

Like you were tricked with me?

JON

No! Yes! I don’t…

MARTIN

You’re not dead, Helen.

[HELEN LAUGHS. IT IS NOT THE LAUGH OF THE DISTORTION]

‘HELEN’

No? Because something is walking around wearing my corpse? I _begged_ you for help. I went to you begging you for help. And you said you would help me. You told me you would help me. And then you let me walk _right into its mouth_.

JON

I just said I’d look into it. I… didn’t know that….

‘HELEN’

You didn’t know the layout of your own office? Do you have any idea how terrified I was when I realized I was back there? Do you know how much I screamed the instant that door closed? Do you know the sick games Michael put me through in that place, over and over again, after I was so sure that Jonathon Sims would help me?

JON

...Yes.

‘HELEN’

Of course you do. And they’re all thanks to you.

MARTIN

Thanks to Michael. _He_ killed you. Not Jon. And the...Not!Them killed you. Jon didn’t do it.

JON

But I could have stopped them, I could have seen the door, I could have seen the table. I could have...

MARTIN

It’s not on you. You’re not to blame for the actions of monsters

‘TIM’

Oh, but you are to blame for _mine_ , aren’t you boss?

MARTIN

Tim?

‘TIM’

All that paranoia. Gonna destroy ya. _Destroyed me_. I wasn’t being subtle, you know. A sympathetic ear from a friend can save a life. But no. You were busy chasing shadows in your room full of crazy.

JON

It was important. Gertrude was murdered, I had to find out who, we were being infiltrated…

‘SASHA’

We sure were. Did you ever suspect them? Or did you just investigate everyone else?

‘TIM’

How long did it take you to suspect _Elias_ , even? You screamed at Martin and took photos of my house. Hope that was worth me blowing myself up in a dingy sideshow attraction!

MARTIN

You weren’t helpful either! You were just getting...angrier and angrier! When you could have helped, you were just seething in the corner!

JON

But why shouldn't he have? I _did_ watch his house. I _did_ follow him. He was innocent and I was so...God I was...I was unraveling so much then. I just...

‘TIM’

There there. _At least no-one got hurt._

[MALICIOUS LAUGHTER FROM THE GHOSTS]

‘MIKE’

Besides. You weren’t unraveling with me, were you? When you brought a feral beast to my door?

JON

Mike Crew? But you were a monster! You…

‘MIKE’ 

Like Oliver? Or Simon? Or Callum? Or you? No. Don't pretend you killed me out of any nobility. Just rank stupidity.

JON

I didn’t know she was there!

‘MIKE’

Oh really? The Acolyte of the Eye _didn’t know_? 

[MORE MALICIOUS LAUGHTER] 

‘DAISY’

Don’t worry though. She’s not a threat anymore.

MARTIN

No. None of Daisy was your fault. She joined the hunt.

‘DAISY’

Yeah. As a child. And I got free, and you promised to help keep me away from it, remember Jon? But no. I had to protect you from the hunters, from the not!Them. Over and over again, I had to give into it. For you. And where were you? Keeping your promise? No. You were running into the tunnels to save your _boyfriend_.

JON

It’s...I couldn’t have stopped it. It was... 

‘DAISY’

No? What if you’d just _stopped asking questions_? If you hadn’t let your damn curiosity lead you running into every trap Elias ever laid? If you’d just let a single mystery lie? What then?

‘HELEN’

We’d all still be here

‘SASHA’

The world would still be here.

???

I’d still be here.

MARTIN

Who are you? Some kid...Jon?

[JON IS SOBBING]

MARTIN

...Who are you?

???

My name’s Greg Taylor. Although he doesn’t remember that. He fed me to Mr Spider all those years ago. I died because of him. I never got to grow up because of him. _And he doesn’t even remember my name_

JON

I’m sorry. God. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.

‘MIKE’

Sorry, are you?

‘SASHA’

We’re still dead, Jon

‘TIM’

We’re not coming back, Jon.

‘GREG’

What do we care if you’re sorry?

[JON SOBS AS THE GHOSTS HISS ACCUSATIONS]

MARTIN

 _Stop_.

[SILENCE]

MARTIN

You were a child, Jon! A child who stumbled on a cursed book. It wasn’t your fault! And the Not!Them, and Micheal, and the Hunt, and Daisy, and...it’s just the world. It’s just a dark and awful world, and we do our best. But sometimes we fail. You can’t save everyone. And everyone you don’t save isn’t your fault.

‘TIM’

Nice speech. Doesn’t make us any less dead.

MARTIN

You’re not dead. _Tim’s_ dead. And you’re not Tim. You’re just a nightmare. You’re all just nightmares. 

JON

My nightmares. Every night. I didn’t dream of...the worms or my hand burning or Nikola or the dark sun near the end. Those horrors had just...blurred together. Background noise. I dreamt of this. Of the people I hurt. So many people.

MARTIN

The people the entities hurt. It wasn’t on you.

JON

Then who was it on? I’m one of the most powerful things on earth. I ended the world. If not me, then who? 

MARTIN

Maybe...maybe nobody. Maybe no-one can save the world. Maybe all we can do is what we can. 

[FABRIC RUSTLES]

MARTIN

Even if it doesn’t work, all we can do is try

[SILENCE BUT FOR GHOSTLY WHISPERS]

MARTIN

I...don’t know if we can turn the world back. I try to be optimistic, but I really don’t. Maybe Jonah will just smite us the instant we reach the tower. Maybe some random avatar or monster will kill us before we ever do. Or maybe we’ll get in and kill him and it will all go right and nothing will change. Maybe this really is forever. But...we have to try. Even if it fails, we have to try.

You have to keep trying, Jon.

JON

But so many people…

MARTIN

They’re dead. I’m sorry. I’m sorry Sasha, and Tim, and Helen, and Daisy, and all of you. But they’re dead. Beyond saving. But maybe we can still save the people who aren’t.

JON

Th...they might not let us. My guilt… in this realm, it's as good as a physical wall. I can’t…

[MARTIN SIGHS]

MARTIN

God, I hope this works.

JON

I’m sorry?

[STATIC RISES]

MARTIN

…

One Alone. Cast aside these long-dead things.

[THE STATIC ISN’T A GLITCHY MASS LIKE BEFORE. IT’S A MONOTONOUS, FLAT STATIC RISING IN VOLUME. SOON, IT DROWNS OUT EVERYTHING. FOR A SECOND, IT’S ALL THAT CAN BE HEARD. AND THEN, SILENCE]

JON

...What?

MARTIN

I’m...the fear of being forgotten. That’s what you said. The Eye and the Lonely, the fear that your pain is unseen and unremembered.

JON

Well, yes, you…

MARTIN

What do the dead still have to fear, besides being unmourned?

JON

That’s...Martin, that’s...

MARTIN

If I must have evil powers, might as well use them, right?

[BEAT]

MARTIN

Also I was _really_ hoping that being your boyfriend entitled me to some of your power in some cosmic metaphysical way, because I’m pretty sure there is no other way that could have worked.

JON

[TEARFUL LAUGH] Apparently it does. 

MARTIN

...I meant what I said. It really isn’t your fault.

JON

It’s strange. I know everything. I know exactly what led to those deaths, every minute factor. But... I can’t see maybes. If I hadn’t been there, would it have turned out differently? Would they be alive if I’d left well enough alone? I’ll never know. Even with the Eye.

MARTIN

It _doesn’t matter_ , Jon. It turned out like _this_. And all we can do is help what we can. Dwelling on maybes won’t change anything

JON

No. No, of course not.

MARTIN

Are you ready to move on?

[SILENCE]

JON

Can we… sit for a while?

MARTIN

Of course.

JON

Thank you.

[FABRIC RUSTLING]

MARTIN

We need to find the inverse of this domain.

JON

Excuse me?

MARTIN

One that makes you feel better about the whole killing thing. You know, [DEEP VOICE] It’s me Jon! The Boneturner! You killed me! I had so many more bones to steal, Jon! I was gonna steal your pelllllllllllvis!

[PAUSE, BEFORE JON BURSTS INTO LAUGHTER]

MARTIN

[CREEPILY CALM VOICE] It’s me, Peter Lukas! Do you know how many sailors are _not_ dying miserable and alone right now because of you?

JON

Ok, you’ve made your point! 

…

Thank you, Martin.

MARTIN

Of course. 

JON

There’s no drink but we... have some cups. To… to Sasha, and Tim, and Helen, and Daisy. And Greg Taylor. And Micheal Shelly, and Gertrude, and Elias Bouchard and...

MARTIN

To those we leave behind.

JON

Yes. 

To those we leave behind.

[GLASSES CLINK AS THE WIND HOWLS]

[RECORDING ENDS]


End file.
